Bookstore sales dropped
to $13.19 billion last year, a decrease of 1.6%, according to preliminary
estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau. This is the smallest such drop
since 2007.

In 2012, bookstore sales
fell 3.3%, while in 2011, sales plummeted 10.2%. The slighter decrease in 2013
sales also may have been buoyed by the optimism in the overall retail market,
which saw sales up 4.0% last year.

Bookstore sales were down
0.5% in December versus the same month in 2012, which may be due partially to
the widespread snowstorms and bitter cold that has plagued much of the country.